The Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the MICEX have signed the General Agreement of Cooperation in the sphere of development of the commodity and stock markets in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The Agreement was signed today in Nizhny Novgorod by the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and Chairman of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Valery Shantsev and President of the MICEX Alexander Potemkin.
According to Valery Shantsev, the work to be performed under the Agreement will be aimed at attracting investments to the economy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and other regions of the Volga Federal District (VFD) as well as at developing the infrastructure of the commodity and the financial markets. An important component of this infrastructure is the regional exchange centre “The MICEX - the Volga Region."
The Agreement provides for the following areas of cooperation between the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the MICEX in the Nizhny Novgorod Region:
- the development of a commodity market in the Nizhny Novgorod Region on the basis of up-to-date exchange technologies, which will be aimed at ensuring equal competitive possibilities for all participants in trading;
- development of the market for securities of the Region’s issuers;
- assistance in involving consultants, auditors and underwriters in the preparation of medium-sized and small businesses for the placement of corporate securities on the Exchange;
- development of opportunities for attracting investments to the manufacturing sector of the regional economy (bonded loans to the amount of 200 million rubles and more for small and medium-sized companies);
- use of exchange technologies in the public sector of the organized market, including the sale of state property, the placement of the regional state order and procurements for public needs;
- use of the regional loan for the purpose of financing the regional budget and regional programs;
- decentralization of on-exchange transactions of multi-branch banks with the aim of returning banks’ on-exchange trading and taxes on transactions to the Region;
- providing openness and transparency of the Region’s commodity and financial markets;
- development of the legal framework for the commodity and financial markets in the Nizhny Novgorod Region and other regions of the Russian Federation;
- providing legal and information support for participants in organized financial and commodity markets;
- study of the trends, problems and areas of development of the Russian and foreign financial and commodity markets.
At the signing ceremony, the MICEX President Alexander Potemkin expressed his confidence that "the joint work in the framework of the Agreement will help to attract large investments for the modernization and restructuring of the industry of the District and improve the competitiveness of regional enterprises in the domestic and foreign markets. The Regional exchange centre "The MICEX - the Volga Region" will be developing as one of the main front-offices of the MICEX Group. Its goal will be energizing interaction with regional issuers, investors and participants in trading, promoting the whole line of the Exchange’s products, instruments and services in the Region and running educational and training programs of the MICEX Group."
The regional policy of the MICEX is aimed at making the whole range products and services of the MICEX Group available to regional issuers and investors to the extent necessary to create comfortable working environment and ensure effective development. This will be the main goal of the Regional exchange centre “The MICEX- the Volga Region", which was established last year on the basis of the Nizhny Novgorod Currency and Stock Exchange.
Currently the Volga Federal District ranks second (after the Central Federal District) by the number of issuers on the MICEX Stock Exchange (46 companies or about 14% of the total number). Their capitalization is 1.3 trillion rubles. In 2007, the volume of placement of corporate bonds by the companies of the Volga Federal District amounted to 30.2 billion rubles, companies of the Nizhny Novgorod Region accounting for 3 billion rubles.
Regional exchange centre "The MICEX - the Volga Region" is a subsidiary of the MICEX (share in the capital: about 90%). The centre was established in 2007 on the basis of the Nizhny Novgorod Currency and Stock Exchange, established in 1993. Being a part of the MICEX Group, regional exchange centre "The MICEX - the Volga Region" operates the currency market, the government securities market and the stock market of the MICEX for regional participants. In 2007 the volumes of transactions effected through "The MICEX - the Volga Region" were: 33 billion rubles in the currency market, 284 billion rubles in the government securities market and the money market and 1033 billion rubles in the stock market. "The MICEX - the Volga Region" organizes on-exchange trading for the purpose of placing the state order of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
MICEX (The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange) was established in 1992. Today the MICEX is the head company of an exchange holding. The MICEX Group is an integrated exchange providing services connected with organizing electronic trade, clearing and settlements as well as depository and information services. The Group also includes the MICEX Stock Exchange, the National Mercantile Exchange, the MICEX Settlement House, the National Depository Center, the National Clearing Center, regional exchange centres, regional settlement centres and some other organizations. The Group serves over 1700 participants in the exchange-based market - leading Russian banks and broker companies from Moscow and other large financial and industrial centres of Russia. Today the MICEX Group operates several key segments of the financial market: the currency market (since 1992), the government bonds market (since 1993), the derivatives market (since 1996), the share market (since 1997), the market for corporate and regional bonds (since 1999) and the money market (2004). Having implemented an up-to-date electronic trading and depository system, the MICEX became a universal financial exchange which served as a basis for the national system of trading and settlements on Russia’s regulated financial market. By the total trade volume (in 2007: 106.9 trillion rubles or 4.2 trillion dollars, the average daily volume of transactions: 431 billion rubles or 17.0 billion dollars) the MICEX is the largest exchange in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe. It is among the world’s top 20 leading stock exchanges.